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‘Royal Rumble’ Review: WWE Fulfills Basic Expectations, but not Much More

January 28th, 2013 at 5:17 PM By Chris Arney

It would be tough to argue that the 'Royal Rumble' was disappointing, but "underwhelming" seems to be a fair adjective to describe a pay per view that lacked surprises and show-stealing elements. The Sports 101 PPV Panel:

And, of course, Chris Arney @WWrestling101, mentioning that he's in first place at every possible turn with 29 points.

In the pre-show, Antonio Cesaro beat The Miz cleanly. Perhaps the WWE isn't keen on some aspect of that feud.

(+1 for all)

Alberto Del Rio had Ricardo Rodriguez tape Big Show's feet to the ropes so that he physically couldn't stand to break the 10-count during the World Heavyweight Championship match. This was an okay-but-forgettable bout. Del Rio retained.

(+1 for ME, PS, and CA)

Team Hell No kept their lengthy Tag Title reign going with a decisive win over The Rhodes Scholars. Daniel Bryan made Damien Sandow tap to the 'No' Lock. Again, there wasn't anything special, here. One has to wonder if somebody backstage has soured on Sandow.

(+1 for BK and CA)

The Rumble match did not go on last, thus telegraphing the outcome the main event. It was a logically booked affair, which counts for quite a bit. Still, it's hard to imagine that it blew anyone away. It felt a little too disposable. Highlights included Dolph Ziggler and surprise entrant, Chris Jericho, starting it off and then lasting until near the end, as well as Kofi Kingston pulling a crazy spot involving Tensai, the announcer's table, and a chair-on-wheels. The final four included John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, and Ryback. Sheamus took out Ziggler, only to get thrown out by Ryback before Cena threw out the big guy to win.

(+0.5 for ME; +2 for PS; +1.5 for CA)

The main event… CM Punk carried The Rock to a slightly better match than anything we've seen from "The Great One', but it wasn't great. Dwayne went for The People's Elbow before the lights went out and when they came back, he had been put through the announce table. Punk rolled him inside the ring and pinned him. Obviously, this didn't fool anyone, and Vince McMahon restarted the match – as opposed to giving The Rock the belt – on Dwayne's insistence. After only a few moves, The Rock hit The People's Elbow to win in fairly dry fashion. Punk should have come up with something more clever. There was no reason for him to think that a Shield attack would work. Oh well.